First Day of Baseball Games...So Let's Watch Some Football

First Spring Training game today.  So glad it is now Spring.  It was a long winter.

To celebrate, I am posting one last old time pro football video.  This one from 1971.

Two years after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, they were one of the favorites to win again.  But first up in the playoffs for them was an upstart team from Miami looking to make a name for themselves.

It was the second season after the merger.  And the NFL decides to have a playoff game on Christmas day.

No harm there.  Start the game in the afternoon, entertain the fans and get out 'fore dinner.

Yep.  That was the plan.

And it might have worked, if not for a few bad breaks along the way.

Instead it turned into a controversy that almost was as bad as the Heidi game, although not nearly as famous.

Today it is remembered almost exclusively for being the longest game in NFL history.  It went two overtimes.

And for that reason, was the end of Christmas football.

I still remember the delayed Christmas dinner it caused.  I was eight years old, and although I no longer believed in Santa Claus, I had one of the best Christmases I can remember.

My brother and I got fuzzy headed and bearded GI Joe Adventure Team Action figures.  I got the Army jungle adventure version with the ape, net and net and Safari buggy.  Some of which I played with at my grandpa's house while watching the game.

Which I watched.  And watched.  And watched.

My memory is not really clear, but I think we were called to dinner more than once.  That offer was declined in order to watch the game.  Or maybe it wasn't an offer, maybe more like a request.  Mighta even been a command.

Again, I don't remember.  But I do remember being glad when the Dolphins won the game on a FG by Garo Yepremian, as I didn't like the Chiefs at the time (see previous posts).  I don't remember how late dinner started, nor whether I even got one.

And so ended the great Christmas NFL playoff experiment.

Later on, the NFL expanded to 16 game seasons, so he playoffs start after New Year's now.  However, it was another 18 years after this two OT game that the NFL dared having another Christmas game.

And according to Wikipedia, there have only been 19 such games in NFL history.  One of which occurred earlier the day of this game, when Dallas beat Minnesota.

A few of other things I learned:
Last game in KC at their old Municipal stadium.  Arrowhead opened the next year.  Loved the look of that old stadium.
It was the Chiefs first home playoff game.  How is that even possible, considering they had been to two Super Bowls?
Ed Podolak was a beast in this game.  Wow.
Jan Stenerud has never recovered and never will.

Wow.  You can see the pain in his face even decades later.  So easy to relate to if you have ever failed to deliver, no matter what that is in life.  Nothing anyone can say.  Nothing anyone can do.  Haunts you forever.

Anyway, it's very enjoyable.

Next...on to baseball!

The End

Today we will post the last installment on the history of the AFL.

As we have already learned, Al Davis hated how it came about.  He thinks the AFL would have buried the NFL and had the upper hand in negotiations.  But gave it all away when the AFL was absorbed into the NFL.

Even though that was not the objective the original owners had.  The reason the AFL even came about was the NFL was not interested in expansion and the eventual AFL owners wanted pro teams.  So those owners got what they really wanted back in the beginning by the deal.

But Davis was different.  He wanted to compete and win.  And I believe the AFL would have, because it seems the AFL owners were smarter than the NFL owners.  At least according to this historical count.

If Davis had had his way, I believe football history would have been much more interesting.

And I think the Super Bowl might have become even bigger if there were still an NFL and an AFL.  Especially if the teams rarely, if ever, played each other during the season.  Would have been much more intriguing.

I also think one of the worst things the MLB ever did was start interleague play.  The mystique of the leagues disappeared.  I wish the World Series was the only way we decided which league was better.

Anyway, here's the end of the AFL, ironically after their triumph in Super Bowl IV.

This was a fun series.

I Propose A New Holiday...

Super Bowl Eve.

So, Merry Super Bowl Eve.

A lot of Super Bowl talk and hype going on right now.

But has there ever been a Super Bowl more talked about than the one shown in the next installment of "Full Color Football"?

That would be Super Bowl III.  The one that immortalized (in the American sense) Joe Namath.

Total dominance by NY in this game.  Fueled no doubt by anger and disrespect.

Those feelings I believe are the most powerful motivators any human can experience.

The other thing I notice about this game is how visually and aesthetically pleasing the game is.  The colors are terrific and the uniforms classic.

Enjoy the 4th of 5 installments.